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RELEVANT’s 10 Best Albums of 2018

RELEVANT’s 10 Best Albums of 2018

2. boygenius: boygenius

Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus are three of their generations’ most gifted musical talents – oft compared to each other, but not nearly as similar as people seem to think. Dacus is the most straightforwardly rock and roll of the bunch, with a love of fuzzy guitars and punchy lyrics. Bridgers is folksier, hearkening more directly to the likes of frequent collaborator Connor Oberst. Baker excels at confessional, cavernous anthems of regret, heartbreak and depression.

These three vibes blend together like pure magic on their woefully brief supergroup offering. Highlights abound, from the Bridgers-driven “Me and My Dog,” in which the three harmonize “I want to hear one song without thinking of you” to gorgeous, wrenching effect. Or “Stay Down,” clearly one of Baker’s tunes, where the line “I look at you and you look at a screen” lands like the blade of a knife.

Each song carries the mark of its primary songwriter like a thumbprint and it’ll be easy for fans to figure out who is most responsible for what, but the beauty of boygenius is how obvious each individual effort is throughout, and the way these women work together to challenge and elevate each other’s craft. The result is some of the most mesmerizing music you could ever hope to hear.

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